IT-Code-News: IT News Head Lines (Ars Technica) 12/06/2014

My week as an Internet spy
Ars tests Internet surveillance—by spying on an NPR reporter.

Alienware Steam Machine now a Windows PC for the living room
SteamOS and Steam controller out, Windows and Xbox 360 controller in.

Startup literally wants to turn your tech garbage into gold
BlueOak Resources has raised $35 million to build first e-waste mining refinery.

Amazon to wrangle babysitting, home repair startups into a marketplace
With retail on lock, Amazon wants in on the service industry.

Web giants encrypt their services—but leaks remain
Ars surveys SSL use at major cloud providers and finds some holes.

RadioShack continues death march, loses $98.3 million in a quarter
Now its ninth consecutive quarterly loss, retailer says turnaround will “take time.”

Is Chicago using cell tracking devices? One man tries to find out
Lawyer: Chicago police "has a history of doing some questionable surveillance."

Google buys satellite imaging company Skybox for $500 million
Silicon Valley startup launched its first "minibar-sized" satellite in 2013.

Google’s university book scanning can move ahead without authors’ OK
Court gives Google significant fair use protections.

Destiny alpha preview: You got MMO in my shooter
A vast, beautiful open world... where you shoot at things with your friends.

Open-world Zelda, new multiplayer shooter IP lead Nintendo’s E3 lineup
But Smash Bros. aside, most games won't be here until 2015.

School cancels reading program rather than promote “hacker culture”
Boing Boing editor responds, offers 200 free copies to the school's students.

It’s official: Malicious hackers have crappy password hygiene, too
Analysis uncovers short, predictable words, plaintext storage.

Verizon bungled attempts to get fiber in NYC buildings, landlords say
"This experience indicates how incompetent Verizon is."

E3 picture diary, day 0: Press conferences, games, and light-up wristbands
The show hasn't started, but we've already seen most of the biggest stuff here.

How Amazon got a patent on white-background photography
A drama in five acts: bad laws, not bad examiners, create obvious patents.

Theater chain bans Google Glass
Alamo Drafthouse, with theaters nationwide, bars the eyewear amid piracy fears.

Liveblog: Nintendo’s digital event at E3
Ars is looking for news on all the Nintendo franchises you know and love.

Miyamoto to unveil new Star Fox, other Wii U experiments at E3
Tower defense, robot combat join motion-sensing Star Fox as future Wii U games.

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“Digital deadly sins” project calls out porn, Instagram vanity, stalking
The Guardian takes the temperature on nefarious uses of tech.

Why haven’t we encountered aliens yet? The answer could be climate change
The Fermi Paradox has been increasingly questioned, but there are no answers yet.

PlayStation TV set to launch fall 2014 in North America, Europe
Many more PS4 exclusives at E3: Grim Fandango, Magicka 2, Broforce, Titan Souls, et al.

Destiny coming first to PlayStation on September 9
CEO Andrew House tells E3 crowd that "first-look alpha" available this week.

Liveblog in progress: Sony at E3
After its 2013 E3 "win," let's see what Sony has cooking for the PS4 and Vita.

Chinese military tied to prolific hacking group targeting US aerospace industry
In operation since 2007, "Putter Panda" is latest group to be implicated by researchers.

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Wednesday, June 11, 2014

IT News Head Lines (Ars Technica) 12/06/2014

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